Swimming is a low-impact, total body workout and an effective way to tone and strengthen just about every muscle in your body. Providing 10 times more resistance to movement than air, your muscles are forced to work harder to move through the water, according to Consumer Reports. If you plan to use swimming exercises to firm and shape your glutes, or buttock muscles, perform a variety of kicking exercises and use training aids to limit your upper body involvement.

Treading Water

A variation to treading water, this exercise can help firm and tone your butt. To perform this exercise correctly, get into the deep end of the pool. With a slight bend in your elbows, hold your arms out to your sides, cup your hands and tread water by making small circles with your hands. While keeping your left leg straight, lift your leg until it is parallel to the bottom of the pool. Keep you right leg straight and perpendicular to the bottom of the pool. Point your toes and hold the position for five seconds. Quickly switch your legs and hold for five seconds. Continue to alternate your legs ever five seconds for a total of 30 seconds. Concentrate on tightening your butt muscles throughout the exercise.

Butt Squeeze Laps

This exercise focuses on your lower-rear core muscles, the glutes, and can also help improve your kicking technique, according to the Swim Smooth website. Start at the shallow end of the pool with a kickboard. Hold the bottom edge of the kickboard with both hands and position the kickboard flat on the surface of the water in front of your body. Extend your arms and push off the wall of the pool with your feet. Keep your head above the water, perform a flutter kick and propel yourself to the opposite end of the pool. Envision holding a large coin between your butt cheeks and keeping it there for the length of the pool. This only requires a light squeeze of your butt muscles. When you reach the opposite end, rest one minute and repeat the exercise back to the shallow end. Perform five laps.

Noodle Frog Kick

The frog kick is used to propel your body through the water when swimming the breaststroke. Your glutes and quadriceps are primary used during this kick. One swimming exercise that focuses on these muscles is the noodle frog kick. This exercise is performed in the shallow end of the pool from one side to the opposite side. Place the noodle under your armpits and across your chest. Lean forward into the water and lift your legs to see if one noodle is sufficient to keep your upper body afloat. If not, place a second noodle under your armpits. Lean forward into the water and extend your arms straight out ahead of your body. Push off the bottom of the pool, keep your head above the water and perform the frog kick to propel yourself through the water. Turn around and return to the starting side of the pool. Perform five laps. If you don't have a noodle, hang on to the edge of the pool and perform the frog kick.

Underwater Skiing

Your buttocks, arms and thighs are targeted with this swimming exercise. You move your legs and arm in a similar way to cross-country skiing, except the movements are done under water. Start this exercise by standing in chest-high water with your feet hip-width apart. Push off the bottom of the pool and simultaneously move your right leg forward and your left leg backward in a scissor-like motion. At the same time, move your left arm forward and your right arm backward slightly behind your body. When you feel your feet contact the bottom of the pool, hop up and switch your legs and arms. Continue to hop and switch your legs and arms for three minutes. Concentrate of keeping your butt muscles tight while performing the exercise.